The Importance of Data-Driven Marketing in the Digital Age

In our hyper-connected, tech-driven age, data is everywhere. Sector, niche, or industry aside, if you’re a modern business looking to engage with your customers on a deeper level, data-driven marketing is essential.  

Without adopting a data-driven marketing mindset, you will be shooting in the commercial dark. Fail to leverage the right metrics and insights to your advantage, and your competitors—as well as your customers—will leave you behind. 

You don’t believe so? Here are three statistics that demonstrate the importance of data-driven marketing:  

• Two out of three top marketers believe data-based decisions are far more effective than gut instinct alone.

• The average return on investment (ROI) for data-driven marketing is 224%.

• Sixty-seven per cent of notable brands and marketers state speed and accuracy as the biggest advantages of data-driven marketing, something that every business aspires to. 

The new age of marketing 

In recent years, the rapid evolution of digital technologies has changed customer behaviour significantly.   

With access to a wealth of information and services at the swipe of a screen or the click of a button, today’s customers expect maximum transparency, value, and convenience from brands and businesses. They expect relevant and personalised engagement with your brand. COVID-19 has further amplified these digital behaviours and expectations. If you want to look after your customers, transforming data-driven insight into valuable marketing communications is no longer a luxury—it has become a necessity.  

Here’s how data-driven marketing can help you offer your customers increased value today, tomorrow, and long into the future:  

• Leveraging browsing and behavioural information to improve the user experience on your apps, landing pages, and websites.

• Identifying inefficiencies in your marketing campaigns, channels and activities, while spotting your strengths, resulting in more impactful, well-executed messaging.

• Understanding what type of content resonates with your audience via social media and when people are most likely to engage with you on specific platforms.

• Gaining a deep and consistent level of insight that will empower you to evolve your messaging with your customers’ ever-changing needs.

During the pandemic, 89% of brands have launched a targeted marketing campaign. While some have been wildly successful, others have missed the mark.   

One of the most prominent factors in the line between campaign success and failure is the use of data. To give your customers what they want, taking the time to listen to your customers is essential—and data-driven marketing will help you do just that. 

“It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data.” — Sherlock Holmes 

How to approach your data-driven marketing activities 

Now that you understand the power and potential of data-driven marketing, we’re going to explore ways you can approach your activities for optimal success.  

Focus on personalisation  

Personalisation can significantly enhance your marketing communications. Eighty per cent of people are more likely to invest in a product or service from a brand that offers personalised experiences.  

If you drill down into your most valuable demographic information and segment your customers effectively, you will be able to reach out to pockets of your audience with deals, offers, and lead-nurturing content that will increase customer retention and conversions. Focus on personalisation, and you will help your audience weather the pandemic (which, in turn, will ensure you not only survive but thrive in these uncertain times).  

Integrate sales & marketing   

These days, the roles of marketing and sales departments overlap significantly. While traditionally, every department had a clearly defined set of goals and duties, an ever-expanding wealth of digital touchpoints (from websites and blogs to apps, email, social media channels, and beyond) means that both departments should work cohesively to nurture leads, develop strategies, and create messaging in a way that is efficient and value-driven.  

If you make your most valuable data-driven insights accessible to both your sales and marketing departments, you will break down any potential silos within your business and encourage collaboration.  

As one big cohesive team, both sales and marketing can pool together their talent and resources to meet your audience’s needs head-on, which will accelerate your success and push you ahead of the pack.  

Work with the right tools  

Expanding on our last point: to maximise your data-driven marketing success, you must work with the right tools.  

Rather than working with separate dashboards or platforms and fragmenting your data, using a robust Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system with Marketing Automation functionalities will consolidate your most essential insights, giving everyone access to the information they need to succeed from one central location.  

The right CRM will empower you to share vital information while accessing all relevant metrics from one navigable dashboard. If you can track your activities and capture valuable data at a glance, you will optimise your lead generation, manage your campaigns efficiently, align your sales and marketing departments, and more. 

“Without big data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway.”— Geoffrey Moore  

A CRM will allow you to turn your data-driven marketing dreams into a brand-enhancing reality. At Workbooks, we offer a CRM and Marketing Automation platform designed to help modern businesses maximise their marketing ROI while understanding their customers on a personal level—which is the way to win on today’s commercial battlefield.  

If you want to know more about our solutions and what we do here at Workbooks, please don’t hesitate to contact us.